Optical dating of alluvial deposits at the orogenic front of the andean precordillera (mendoza, argentina)

Abstract

Well constrained numerical ages of alluvial fan sediments are key to understanding the chronology of alluvial episodes and tectonic activity at the front of the Andean Precordillera. We test-ed the application of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating in the distal part of an alluvial fan five kilometers north of Mendoza. For OSL dating a large number of aliquots (n > 70)-each composed of ̃50 quartz grains-were measured in order to obtain reliable burial ages despite scattered dose distributions. Owing to a feldspar contamination in all samples, an infrared stimulation was inserted before each OSL measurement, which reduced the feldspar OSL signal suc-cessfully. By using the minimum age model we obtained stratigraphically consistent burial ages of al-luvial deposits in a depth profile. The uppermost ̃1 m of sediment is composed of debris flow depos-its buried 770±76 years ago. Three plant remnants used for radiocarbon dating from the same layer, however, yielded ages younger than 350 years, which are interpreted to underestimate the deposition-al age. Underneath the debris flow, a major unconformity cuts a series of distal alluvial fan sediments with interstratified floodplain deposits, which are composed of sandy and calcite-rich silt layers, re-spectively. Three samples from this unit which were distributed over one meter of sediment thickness yielded statistically concordant OSL ages of 12.3±1.2 ka, 12.3±1.2 ka, and 11.7±1.1 ka. The deposi-tion of these sediments during the latest Pleistocene coincides with a phase of cool and humid cli-mate, which occurred before the alluvial fan propagated farther into the foreland. The overlying de-bris flow sediments are associated with alluvial fan incision during the arid Late Holocene. © 2011 Silesian University of Technology.